Uchumi has also lost most of its outlets and is fighting a winding up petition brought by suppliers and other creditors claiming more than Sh800 million.

Court records show that 20 companies have joined the case filed by Githunguri Dairy Farmers Co-operative Society, bringing the total claims filed against the retailer so far to Sh865 million.

Githunguri Dairy moved to court in September seeking to wind up Uchumi over its failure to set­tle a Sh44.8 million debt.

Land sale

The retail chain has been banking on the sale of land in Kasarani to turn around its fortunes but the money — estimated at Sh2.8 billion — has been slow in coming because of challenging approval processes.

Fashion retailer Deacons went into administration on Monday after years of losses, making it difficult for the company to pay its debt.

The company had recently indicated that its shareholders were willing to rescue it and it was not immediately clear why the plan failed to materialise.

The fashion retailer’s creditors include NIC Bank and UBA Kenya Bank Limited which it owed Sh524.8 million and Sh98.3 million respectively as of December 2017.

Years of losses had reduced Deacons’ book value to Sh101.4 million as of June.